We’ve been hearing about the Asus N10 for a few weeks now, and I finally got some hands-on time with the device. Some people have been calling this a high-end netbook, but Asus is placing it in their notebook category–so don’t call it a netbook! It is not part of the Eee PC family despite its many similarities to the 10-inch Eee PC 1000H.

The N10 will initially ship in two SKUs: the N10J and the N10E. The N10E uses integrated graphics and will start at $599 while the N10J will have discrete graphics and start at $699. They will initially launch with 160GB or 320GB hard drive capacities, but users should expect to see SSDs in the near future. The processor will be Intel’s Atom N270 processor, the same one that we have seen on most of these small systems, but there will be a Windows Vista option for the OS. The system is not very light, but it brings a great deal more power to the 10-inch size. In the future the N series will be appearing in larger sizes, which is probably one reason (besides the price) that Asus is avoiding the term “netbook”.

Note the use of two switches on the left hand side. One will toggle the discrete graphics while the other will turn the radio functions on and off. Moving from discrete to integrated graphics should significantly boost battery life. Another feature that we can expect to see on these is Express Gate (aka Splashtop) instant-on desktop.

Both N10 models are expected to ship in either late September or early October. They are appearing in storesalready, but it looks like some need a price adjustment.

After checking on the N10, we got to spend a few minutes with two other exciting models, though ones which have already been officially announced. The first was the U6 which we reviewed in the past, but this one had the bamboo exterior. It’s a bit quirky, but definitely cool, and it makes a statement about environmental sustainability. The logo on the top appears to be branded into the bamboo, which is a nice touch. Even though the bamboo is just a thin covering and it doesn’t make up the chassis I couldn’t help but love the idea. This one you can actually buy–it’s $1999 and available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

The other notebook on display was the F6V with a scented cover. The floral design on the LCD cover actually smelled like flowers, thanks to the scent-imbued plastic. The scent was not overwhelming, so you have to pretty much put your face against it to appreciate the smell, but once you were close enough it was clearly discernible. The floral scent is just one of the options and there is also “Musky Black”, “Morning Dew”, and “Aqua Ocean”.

{ad}Asus said that the scented notebooks will not available in the future, but some were sold to vendors. They seem to be on Amazon right now, for $1299, but you can bet supplies are limited. Given that the scent is only said to last six months, and you’ll probably get tired of it before then, the decision against mass production is not surprising.